switching out tweeters after 3 years

[highfigh]

what about crossovers? can they "partially" blow as well? is it obvious when looking at it?

i hear measuring components in circuit yields meaningless results

Crossover caps are most likely to go bad from excessive voltage and they have a voltage rating on the wrapper. If they weren't intended for high power, the caps will be rated for 25V, 50V for higher power systems. If a cap goes bad, it can burst and there's no question when that happens.

If you have a multi-meter, separate the cap from the circuit and measure for resistance- if you see continuity, it's shorted. You should see a brief reading, but it should go back to reading OL (the most common reading on a digital meter for an open circuit). Then, reverse the meter's leads on the cap and test again- it may show the same as the first test and should go back to OL.

 

[MrBoat]

Sure they do, if the amplifier power is low, it's driven to a high level of distortion and left to run for a long time. I have seen three way speakers with a pair of blown tweeters AND mids, but THAT was rare.

That's what I said. . . ."rarely."

ETA: That was usually a condition with people who bought underpowered speakers in the first place and ran them full tilt all the time in the distortion range. But even then, it was hard to tell because they listened to them distorted anyway.

 

[chaosrealm93]

What was the average level in dB at the time? What do you mean the EQ was boosted 20dB? How did you determine that?

i think the avg level was -20 dB

the recording sounded poor so i tried my hand at EQ-ing. the program was slow to respond so bit by bit i pushed the slider up until it maxxed out at +20dB in the 3-4khz range with slopes at either end. thats when the program finally responded and blasted it with noise

 

[lovinthehd]

What were you using for eq?

 

[chaosrealm93]

What were you using for eq?

the equalization effect inside audacity (effect>equalization)

 

[highfigh]

That's what I said. . . ."rarely."

ETA: That was usually a condition with people who bought underpowered speakers in the first place and ran them full tilt all the time in the distortion range. But even then, it was hard to tell because they listened to them distorted anyway.

Good drivers can fail, too- how fast is just a matter of what caused it. I had a pair of speakers in the late-'80s that contained Phillips drivers, they had poly-switches to protect the mid and tweet, never had a problem and at the store, we almost never saw problems with any of that brand- we sold the crap out of them, too. One guy blew both tweeters, both mids & one woofer; he was using a Pioneer SX-750 receiver. His dad came in to give us a hard time when he received the estimate for repairs since they were very new and he thought they should have been covered by the warranty. I explained how this happens and he told me that his kid doesn't crank the stereo to that level, so I asked "Are you at home all of the time?". He paused and quietly said "Can you call when they're done?".

I suspect his son had cranked the volume close to/at max with the bass and possibly the treble controls jacked.